A ROLE-PLAYING GAME FEATURE

DM TALK

Players reach  Level Three  when they totally  assume the  supposed  characteristics of  their generated  character for the  duration of the evening's play.

by Carl Smith

Polyhedron

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1st Ed. AD&D

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Polyhedron #17

Being a Dungeon Master is hard -- and 
all too often, a thankless job, At one time 
or another, every Dungeon Master 
reaches a stage where he or she feels that 
"this is it -- I quit!" A good Dungeon 
Master can save himself if he recognizes 
several things about role playing: 

1. There are different styles, or levels, of 
role playing. 

2. It is important to play the game, and 
NOT the rules. 

3. "Burn-out" can occur if a DM is 
called upon too often to perform that 
function. 

Styles

From group to group role playing styles 
vary. Ideally, there are as many levels of 
role-playing as there are players and 
DMs. In general, we can lump all the 
styles into one of three rathe broad categories 
of role-playing gamers. Each of 
these three is a style, or level distinct from 
the others, but not necessarily better than 
the other styles. 

Level One: At Level One, players 
familiarize themselves with their characters. 
Their role playing extends little beyond 
conforming ot the statistics and 
abilities of the characters they generate. 
Primarily, the DM needs to remind players 
of what he thinks the limitations of 
their characters are. 

People attending gaming sessions at 
this level are mostly interested in social 
interactions with their friends, and the 
game provides a friendly medium for this 
interaction; the game is a social event. 
Gamers chat with their friends, meet new 
friends, and kid around in a non-threatening 
atmosphere. The company of 
friends is more important than the focus 
of the game. 

Level Two: Level Two is the level 
where players become more ego-involved 
with the game and the characters they 
generate. Lines begin to blur between 
what the player knows, and what the 
character he is playing knows. This 
applies to charcter abilities, and many 
gamers want to know, "Why can't my 
character do this -- I can do this." This is 
sometimes a fine line, and friends who 
game together may overlook that someone 
has his character do something the 
character's abilities say he WOULD 
NOT do. If the DM is a friend and 
knows the people well, he sometimes lets 
the lines between person and created 
characters blur. By itself, this hurts nothing, 
but it could cause problems down the 
line in a campaign setting. 

At the same time, players are more 
familiar with the rules than the Level One 
players. At this level, the "rules lawyer" 
often rears his head. A rules lawyer may 
logically, in the context of the game, point 
out some rule or loophole which allows 
him ot perform the action he desires. The 
danger here is that the DM must be wary, 
or his carefully designed campaign may
get away from him. 

Level Three: Players reach Level 
Three when they totally assume the supposed 
characteristics of their generated 
character for the duration of the evening's 
play. The game then becomes an intellectual 
challenge to the gamer. At this level, 
players often comment, "My character 
couldn't perform that action" and they 
work within the parameters and confines 
of the character they generate. The challenge 
at this stage is not winning or losing, 
but truly how well you play the game. 

Strategies

Recognizing these types of play and reasons 
for gaming helps the DM decide how 
he is going to react to the group he plays 
with. In Level One the DM needs to keep 
the group focused on the game. He needs 
to emphasize the "fun" aspects of any 
situation. The players are there primarily 
for the social value, and may be giddy or 
frivolous. Instead of fighting his players, 
the DM can join in the spirit of things 
and structure all events of an evening's 
play along the lines that, "they're here for
fun, so we'll have fun." 

Beginning with Level Two, the greatest 
problem a DM faces is the strong attachment 
some players feel to their characters. 
At this stage of role playing, many players 
succumb to the temptation to become 
"rules lawyers." A rules lawyer usually 
insists on playing the rules as HE interprets 
them, and usually only when it is to 
his benefit to do so. When this occurs, the 
DM must be fair, impartial even to the 
rules lawyer, and -- above -- firm. In 
the rules for most RPGs, it is stated that 
the rules are simply to help the DM make 
a decision. As such, the rules are only 
guidelines, and each individual campaign 
may have different guidelines. The DM 
needs to have every player understand 
that the DM -- and not the players -- is 
running the game. Usually the best time 
to bring this up is at the beginning of an 
evening's gaming when no one is personally 
involved with a decision at hand. The 
players can then avoid the feeling that the 
DM singled them out with a "bad" call. 
By determining who is the authority figure 
from the start, future arguments are 
avoided. This is not to say that the players 
cannot speak their minds or attempt to 
sway the DM's decisions, but that once 
the DM makes a decision, they should 
abide by it and not gripe all evening 
because they didn't get their way. 

Dungeon Masters sometimes make 
mistakes. Big deal! If you make an 
honest error as a DM, you can rectify 
it if you want -- that's one of the 
Dungeon Masters' prerogatives! 

---

It is necessary to reinforce the idea that 
the DM is not playing against the players. 
In a very real sense, he is playing with 
them, and the DM must be careful about 
being placed in the position of an adversary. 
Two attitudes that can help a Dungeon 
Master are: 
1. "Give 'em the little ones. . . ."
2. "The DM is always right -- even 
when he's wrong!"

The first mental state is necessary 
because no one in a group has any fun if 
the DM and players are constantly haggling. 
Such bickering slows the game 
down and ruins everyone's evening. If a 
character has a halfway even chance of 
performing an action, let the player do it, 
if it doesn't unbalance the game. As an 
alternative, hand the player 1d20 and 
have him roll the ability score you feel is 
nearest to the character ability which 
governs the desired action. If the player is 
successful, let him do what he wants; if 
the player fails the die roll, then the Dungeon 
Master has exhibited fairness by 
letting the player roll the die fo rthe success 
or failure of the desired action. If the 
attempt succeeds, show the player you're 
happy with the outcome. 

On occasion any DM will make an 
unpopular decision -- in a case like that, 
do what you think is fair -- and do not 
get drawn into an argument with the 
player. If you try to be fair, you can sometimes 
get away with making the "wrong" 
decision. After all, what you are doing by 
being a DM is essentially a public service 
to your friends so that you can work while 
they play . . . and you don't have to put 
up with abuse or constant arguments. If 
the person arguing with you could really 
do the job better, he would be running the 
campaign and you'd be playing. People 
play in campaigns because they enjoy 
them -- and players will forgive an honest 
mistake, just as they will know if the 
DM is trying to prove something. If 
you're right, stick to your guns. No one 
wants a wishy-washy DM. If you're 
wrong, admit it. No one wants a completely 
unyielding DM, either. 

The third level of play is the most 
rewarding -- and the most demanding for 
the DM. This level requires the DM to be 
an entire cast of NPCs and to portray 
them all honestly and with distinct personalities. 
At this time, the DM begins to 
play with the players and their characters. 
He wants them to have fun, and he has 
fun with them by taking the parts of the 
various NPCs. DMs who consciously role 
play their NPCs can (and should) add a 
tremendous amount of flavor to the game. 

Similarly, it can not be emphasized 
enough that RPG players should play the
game, not the rules. All games have rules 
and these rules should guide the DM in 
decisions he makes for his campaign. As 
guides, the rules do not and should not 
cover every specific action that may be 
possible in a game; if they did, the DM 
would not need people to play the game, 
and the game would play itself. 

Consequently, as a DM, you need to 
understand everything about the world in 
which your campaign is set. Rules should 
not be ignored without good reason, but 
neither should rules which don't fit the 
world in which your campaign is set be 
enforced just because they are rules. If a 
certain rule does not fit withinyour conception 
of your campaign's universe, 
don't use it. Never let nit-picking get in 
the way of good game play. 

Along this line, remember that once 
you allow players to start spouting rules, 
then rules become more important than 
role playing, and the game is doomed. No 
game needs a player who is trying to 
impress everyone with how much knowledge 
he has. Remember, it's easier to find something 
wrong than to find something 
right with a decision. DMs sometimes 
make mistakes. Big deal! If you make an 
honest error as a DM, you can rectify it if 
you want -- that's one of the Dungeon 
Master's prerogatives! 

One of the most dangerous foes of any 
campaign is DM burn-out. Sometimes a 
DM is just tired. Being a Dungeon Master 
is hard work -- and few people tell a 
DM "thank you." If you're a Dungeon 
Master, tell yourself that if the players 
weren't enjoying the way things are 
going, they wouldn't come to game with 
you. Sometimes a DM who feels drained 
needs ot take a break -- take it! A one or 
two week rest form your campaign can 
keep players from being bored, and it 
keeps the tired Dungeon Master from 
making a mistake or "rushing" the game. 
It also gives other players a chance to test 
their skills as DMs. 

Taking a break can also free you to play 
and let someone else worry about being 
the authority. You may discover that you 
can get enough DMs so that you can play 
in several different campaigns and still 
run your own only once a month. This 
variety can add new spice to the games in 
which you participate as either Dungeon 
Master or player. 


A DM walks a fine line, and probably 
won't be able to please everyone all of the 
time. But remember, not everyone can 
DM and not everyone wants to. When all 
is said and done, however, people play 
games because they want to have fun. If a 
game isn't fun, people will stop coming. 
If you didn't enjoy being a Dungeon 
Master, you wouldn't continue to do it 
, , , would you?

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